Swahili Skill:Greetings 1
Greetings 1 is the second skill in the language tree for the Swahili language on Duolingo. It has four lessons that teach basic greetings in Swahili. Tips and Notes * It is customary in Tanzanian culture to exchange greetings before engaging in a conversation or in any other activities, which is why ‘Greetings’ is one of the first skills of the Swahili course. * Hand shaking is used a lot. In some areas of Tanzania people kneel down or bow, or bend down a little as a sign of respect, children bow their heads for a blessing from elders. In other areas elders bow their heads for a touch from children when being greeted. * People take greetings seriously as they help to maintain good relationships. * The word habari literally means "news," but it is often used to ask "How is ---?" * Some Tanzanians use the greeting "Jambo" when greeting foreigners. In most cases Jambo is considered to be a touristic greeting. Generally foreigners are associated with tourists and for that matter this greeting is commonly used with foreigners. * When using the forms of ''-jambo'', negative prefixes will be used - such as asking, "Hujambo?". This can be translated as a way to say, "Hello!" or "How are you?" More about this will be explained in later lessons, but for now, just remember that Jambo is technically used for tourists only. * To a friend/colleague, one can say "Mambo?", "Salama?" or "Vipi?", but not to an elder or to a senior person. These phrases are slang for "hello." * Articles "a", "the", and "some" are not used in Swahili. One can say mtoto for "a" or "the" child. Lessons Lesson 1 * asubuhi = morning * mchana = afternoon * leo = today * jioni = evening * usiku = night * habari = how is * za = of/'s * za mchana = your afternoon * za jioni = the evening's/of the evening * ya = of/'s (one's news)(1) * ya leo = the day's/of the day Lesson 2 * dada = sister/sisters * kaka = brother/brothers * mama = mom * baba = dad * bibi = grandma * babu = grandpa * karibu = welcome * nyumbani = home/at home * habari za jioni = good evening/how is the evening * habari za mchana = good afternoon/how is the afternoon * habari za asubuhi = good morning/how is the morning * habari za nyumbani = how is home Lesson 3 * umeamkaje = how did you wake up ** u'' = you (sg.), ''me = present perfect (tense marker), amka = wake up, je = how(3) * umeshindaje ''= how was your day/how are you doing/how have you been ** ''u = you (sg.), me = present perfect (tense marker), shinda = to win, je = how(4) * salama = peaceful * kazi = /work * mambo = hello (slang)(2) * nzuri = good (formal)(2) * poa = cool (informal)(2) Lesson 4 * sijambo = I am fine * hujambo = how are you (sg.) * hajambo = he/she is fine * hatujambo = we are fine * hamjambo = how are you all (pl.) doing * hawajambo = how are they * na = and/with/to References (1)https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/21242941 (2)https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/21176532 (3)https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/21048253 (4)https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/21190258